The Beautiful Women of Greece.

1. How did women's roles in society differ from Athens and Sparta?

The women of Sparta were clearly better off than those of Athens. Spartan women were allowed to own more than just clothing and jewelry, they could own pretty much anything they wanted, even land (it is said that they owned more than one third of the Spartan land). Still, neither of the groups of women lived wonderful lives. Women in both cultures were looked at as objects; in Athens they were merely for show, and in Sparta their husbands were allowed to “lend them” to others in order for that man to have a child.

2. If the Greeks are considered so advanced, so culturally elite, why do you believe gender equality (equality between men and women) was not established?

I find it very unfortunate that neither society took charge in making both men and women equal. I question how it came to be that women were not “worth” as much as men. Why were women in Athens not allowed to own things like land? How could it come to be that a man in Sparta could lend his wife to another man so he could use her for sexual purposes? I can’t think of why gender equality was never brought up. What did these people see in women to make them think that they were the weaker of the two genders?

3. Based on your understanding of women in Ancient Greek society, how do you think women were depicted by artists at this time?

By what I’ve read tonight I have a good feeling women were depicted as beautiful creatures in Greek society. I noticed that no matter how many cruel things I read in the articles, they always mention how a man always wished for a beautiful wife. I predict that when I am shown samples of Greek art, the women will be gorgeous, but they will not be in the best situations.